All of the material in this patent application is subject to copyright protection under the copyright laws of the United States and of other countries. As of the first effective filing date of the present application, this material is protected as published material, and to the extent not already subject to protection for published material, as unpublished material.
However, permission to copy this material is hereby granted to the extent that the owner of the copyright rights has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or patent disclosure, as it appears in the United States Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.
The present invention relates generally to network based systems for processing information provided thereto by a client via an interrogative interface. More particularly, the invention relates to Internet based systems and/or websites on the world wide web which process information provided by users visiting the websites.
A variety of websites present an interrogative interface such as questionnaire or form to a visitor in order to receive information from the visitor. Particular examples include questionnaires posed to visitors in order to effect a registration and questionnaires posed to a visitor in order to effect a purchase of a product. See, e.g., xe2x80x9cwww.dell.comxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cwww.gateway.com.xe2x80x9d Thus, as used herein, the term xe2x80x9cinterrogative interfacexe2x80x9d means a computer-generated interface in which a user provides information in response to questions or entry blanks (e.g., a business form format). The questions and/or responses may be communicated by any of various input devices including keyboards, touch screens, speech recognition systems, handwriting recognition systems, and pointing devices, to name a few.
The manner in which the information is used and/or processed is as varied as the applications to which the information is pertinent. Further, the problems which these various systems are intended to address are similarly varied.
One recent U.S. Pat. No. 5,832,477, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, describes an automated system for providing real-time verification of health insurance eligibility. According to the abstract:
Data from a health care provider computer system is used to automatically request real-time electronic insurance eligibility verification information from health care insurance payers. A patient health insurance verification computer system is operatively connected to a patient registration computer system. The verification computer system obtains a data output stream such as a print image from the registration computer system. This data output stream is captured and broken down into separate data fields. The insurance carrier is determined, and the verification computer system determines which electronic data source to request patient eligibility data from. The verification computer system reformats the captured data to fit the data format required by the data source, establishes a communications link to the data source, and sends the reformatted data to the data source. The data source sends responsive patient specific eligibility data which the verification computer system uses to automatically verify insurance coverage. Health insurance verification becomes much more reliable since no human intervention is required to carry on the automatic verification process. Additionally, automatic verification can be performed conveniently without double data entry even in environments with preexisting admissions systems that cannot be easily modified.
This system also could be implemented over the Internet or some private network, depending on the target users.
An object of the invention is to provide a legal services network that automates the receipt of information from a client, provides a secure attorney-client communication channel, and a data base format that enables an attorney to administer a plurality and variety of matters.
To that end, in an embodiment, the invention provides a network-based system in which a client may contract in real-time for the provision of legal services via a computer interface without directly contacting an attorney, transmit attorney-client communications to the legal services provider, and receive attorney-client communications from the legal services provider.
In a more particular embodiment, the invention provides a network based system for the provision of legal services via the world wide web, having:
(a) an interrogative interface via which a client submits information relevant to a legal service matter in connection with which a legal service provider is engaged;
(b) a retainer acknowledgment interface via which the client acknowledges engaging the legal service provider to perform a legal service;
(c) a query interface via which the client can post inquiries to the legal services provider; and
(d) a database comprising information relating to the status of one or more legal service matters for which the client has engaged the legal service provider.
As used herein, the term xe2x80x9cimmigration/naturalizationxe2x80x9d means and refers to legal processes for effecting immigration visas, non-citizen work permits or naturalizations (citizenship awards). Thus an xe2x80x9cimmigration/naturalizationxe2x80x9d application can refer to an application or form submitted to a legal service provider by a client engaging the service provider to assist the client in obtaining an immigrant or non-immigrant visa, work permit or naturalization, to an application (generally in the format of a completed form) submitted to the appropriate governmental authority, such as the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service.
In an embodiment, the invention provides a system for the processing of an immigration/naturalization application by a service provider over a network in which:
a client is presented via a computer interface with a variety of application categories from which to select one for processing;
the client is then presented via a computer interface with a retainer agreement which must be acknowledged before the client is permitted to proceed within the system;
the client is presented via a computer interface with a questionnaire for inputting data used by the system to prepare an immigration/naturalization application on behalf of the client;
the client is notified via e-mail as to any further information which the client must supply in order to perfect the immigration/naturalization application filing;
the client is provided with hard copies of any forms which require signature; and
the service provider submits and administers the immigration/naturalization application on behalf of the client.
In an embodiment, the invention provides a system for processing of an immigration/naturalization application by a legal services provider, comprising:
(a) an interrogative interface via which a client inputs personal data relevant for an immigration/naturalization application;
(b) a retainer interface via which the client acknowledges engaging the legal services provider and submits a payment;
(c) a query interface via which the client can post inquiries to the legal services provider;
(d) a computer database comprising data relating to various matters for which the legal services provider has been engaged;
(e) an administrative interface comprising a matrix for listing matters for which the legal services provider has been engaged and data including the status of such matters.
In an embodiment, the invention provides a legal services system, comprising:
one or more servers on which a database and a set of HTML files are located; and
a network to which said one or more servers are connected; wherein,
said HTML files include a dynamically interactive interrogative interface via which a remote user accessing the HTML files is presented with a succession of questions, each succeeding question being selected based upon a response to a preceding question; and
said HTML files include a retainer acknowledgment interface via which said remote user acknowledges retaining a legal services provider in connection with a legal service.
In an embodiment, the invention provides a system for providing immigration/naturalization legal services to a client comprising:
(a) one or more servers operatively connected to a network;
(b) an interrogative interface via which said client can submit data useful in completing a governmental form for immigration/naturalization;
(c) a retainer acknowledgment interface via which said client submits a payment;
(d) a query interface via which said client can post inquiries; and
(e) an account access interface via which said client can new information relating to processing of data submitted via said interrogative interface.
In an embodiment, the invention provides a legal services network-based system, comprising:
a network;
a database comprising information relating to matters for which a legal services provider has been engaged including queries posed by clients and responses thereto;
one or more remotely accessible servers on which said database is stored;
an administration interface for accessing information in said database, said administration interface being only accessible by said legal services provider;
a retainer acknowledgment interface via which clients acknowledge engagement of the legal services provider; and
a software module which accepts a question submitted by the client and processes same only if a client has acknowledged engagement of the legal services provider and submitted a payment via the retainer acknowledgment interface.
In an embodiment, the invention provides a method of providing legal services over a network comprising the steps of:
(a) providing a set of HTML files accessible via the network;
(b) receiving an acknowledgment of engagement of a legal services provider from a remote client via one of said HTML files;
(c) receiving data from said remote user via an interrogative interface, said data for use by the legal services provider providing said legal services;
(d) providing a query interface via which said remote client can post inquiries to said legal services provider, providing an account access interface via which said remote user can view information as to progress of said legal services for which said legal services provider is engaged by said remote client.
These and other features and aspects of the invention are set forth in greater detail below in the following detailed description of the presently preferred embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings.